It was news when a leak of methyl mercaptan killed four workers at a DuPont chemical plant in La Porte, Texas, November 15, 2014. Maps and data are available to any environmental journalists who want to know about similar hazards near them, thanks to Amanda Frank at the Center for Effective Government.

There is still hope (and perhaps time) for this Congress to pass a bill strengthening the Freedom of Information Act. The Senate Judiciary seems likely to mark up a revised FOIA reform bill Thursday, November 20, 2014. After that will come a push to bring it to the Senate floor and eventually reconcile with a FOIA bill already passed by the House.

On a 229-191 party-line vote, the GOP-controlled House passed a bill reining in EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) — authorizing conflicts of interest for its members and gagging them in communications about subjects they are expert on. Science integrity and environmental groups had opposed the bill, which the House passed on November 18, 2014.

Power company Pacificorp has gone to court to prevent the Interior Department from disclosing how many birds are found dead at its wind-energy turbine sites. AP reporter Dina Cappiello has been writing an investigative series on the birds, including eagles, killed at wind farms in the U.S. The series found that federal regulators have not prosecuted or penalized wind-energy companies when their turbines kill birds and — the government has helped keep the scope of bird mortality secret.

It seemed like good news when Baker Hughes, one of the world's largest oilfield services companies, announced in Oct 2014 that it would start disclosing all the chemicals it used in its fracking operation. Now Halliburton, an even larger oilfield services company, is buying Baker Hughes. In a $34.6 billion merger. Or is it a hostile takeover?

Reporter's Toolbox

In this excerpt from the new issue of SEJournal (Fall), "Inside Story" editor Beth Daley interviews Chemical & Engineering News' Cheryl Hogue, who won first place in SEJ’s 13th annual awards for outstanding beat reporting small market, for stories including how microbeads in personal care products impact the environment and how the Small Business Association has become a mouthpiece for industry on chemical issues. Photo: Microbeads on penny; courtesy 5 Gyres Institute.

Now available to non-members and non-subscribers! In this issue: Tracking the fracking boom; taking the chaos out of your disaster coverage; photojournalist dives into digital in 'Sea Change'; award-winner Cheryl Hogue talks about spotting trends on the science beat; committing to collaboration; mentoring match between veteran freelancer radio rookie; book reviews; publishing a DIY guide to local environmental issues; Q&A with author Linda Pannozzo on scapegoating the grey seal.

Here's an idea: let people know where 100-car trainloads of crude oil might be threatening their safety. After the July 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster that killed 47, people might want to know about this. And the Federal Railroad Administration officially agrees — saying railroads can't hide this information. Now the Association of Washington Cities has an online map for that.